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Summary

This writing guide/reader/handbook demystifies writing by presenting the writing process as a series of critical thinking decisions about audience and purpose. Widely admired for its clear, readable style, "The Writing Process" focuses on writing as decision-making, with a wealth of student samples in various draft stages and a strong collection of professional readings-essays, fiction, poetry, memoirs, and cartoons-to illustrate writing strategies. Helps readers understand the writing process. Writing process, research process. Anyone who wants to learn to write well.

Table of Contents

THEMATIC CONTENTS

XXIII

PREFACE

XXVII

SECTION ONE THE PROCESS-DECISIONS IN PLANNING, DRAFTING, AND REVISING

1

(78)

INTRODUCTION

2

(6)

Writing as Decision Making

2

(1)

How Writing Looks

3

(1)

How Writing Makes a Difference

3

(2)

Decisions in Collaborative Writing

5

(1)

Decisions about Writing with Computers

5

(1)

Applications

6

(2)

CHAPTER 1 DECISIONS IN THE WRITING PROCESS

8

(13)

Decision Making and the Writing Process

9

(5)

Case Study One Writer's Decision-Making Process

10

(12)

"Life in Full Color" Shirley Haley (Student)

12

(2)

The Looping Structure of the Writing Process

14

(5)

"Confessions of a Food Addict" Wendy Gianacoples (Student)

16

(3)

Options for Essay Writing

19

Applications

15

(6)

CHAPTER 2 DECISIONS IN PLANNING

21

(27)

Deciding on a Topic, Purpose, Thesis, and Audience

22

(8)

Decide on Your Topic

22

(1)

Decide on Your Purpose

22

(1)

Decide on Your Thesis

23

Guidelines for Developing a Thesis

21

(8)

Decide on Your Audience

28

(1)

Case Study Analyzing Your Writing Situation

29

(1)

Discovering, Selecting, and Organizing Your Material

30

(6)

Discover Useful Material

31

(1)

Guidelines for Brainstorming

32

(1)

Select Your Best Material

33

(1)

Organize for Readers

33

(1)

Case Study Exploring and Arranging Assets

33

(3)

Finding Your Voice

36

(2)

Find a Voice that Connects with Readers

37

(1)

Avoid an Overly Informal Tone

37

(1)

The Writer's Planning Guide

38

(2)

Planning for Group Work

40

(3)

Guidelines for Writing Collaboratively

40

(3)

Applications

43

(5)

CHAPTER 3 DECISIONS IN DRAFTING

48

(13)

Drafting the Title and Introduction

49

(5)

The Introductory Paragraph

50

(1)

Placing the Thesis

51

(1)

Selecting an Opening Strategy

51

(3)

Drafting the Body Section

54

(1)

Drafting the Conclusion

55

(3)

Selecting a Closing Strategy

55

(1)

Case Study Drafting the Essay

56

(2)

"Cars R Us" Maureen Malloy (Student)

56

(2)

Drafting on the Computer

58

(1)

Guidelines for Drafting on the Computer

58

(1)

Applications

59

(2)

CHAPTER 4 DECISIONS IN REVISING

61

(18)

The Meaning of Revision

62

(1)

Revision Checklist

63

(1)

Using the Checklist

64

(3)

Case Study Revising the Draft

64

(2)

Guidelines for Reviewing and Editing the Writing of Peers

66

(1)

Revising with Peers

67

(9)

Proofreading Your Final Draft

76

(1)

Guidelines for Proofreading

16

(61)

Applications

77

(2)

SECTION TWO SPECIFIC REVISION STRATEGIES

79

(81)

INTRODUCTION

80

(3)

How Good Is "Good Enough"?

80

(1)

Revising from the Top Down

80

(1)

Beefing Up the Content

81

(1)

Harnessing Paragraph Power

81

(1)

Honing the Sentences

81

(1)

Finding the Perfect Wording

82

(1)

CHAPTER 5 REVISING THE CONTENT: WRITING SOMETHING WORTHWHILE

83

(13)

Make It Credible

84

(2)

Make It Informative

86

(3)

"Walk But Don't Run" Jeff Leonard (Student)

87

(2)

Make It Complete

89

(1)

Credit Your Information Sources

90

(1)

Applications

91

(5)

CHAPTER 6 REVISING THE PARAGRAPHS: SHAPING FOR READERS' ACCESS

96

(21)

Support Paragraphs as Mini-Essays

97

(1)

Paragraph Function

98

(1)

Paragraph Length

98

(1)

The Topic Statement

99

(2)

The Topic Statement as Readers' Framework

99

(1)

The Topic Statement as Writers' Framework

99

(1)

How Audience and Purpose Determine a Topic Statement's Focus

100

(1)

Structural Variations in Support Paragraphs

101

(1)

Paragraph Unity

102

(1)

Paragraph Coherence

103

(9)

Ordering Ideas for Coherence

104

(4)

Parallelism

108

(1)

Repetition, Restatement, and Variation

109

(1)

Pronouns for Coherence

110

(1)

Consistency for Coherence

110

(1)

Transitions

110

(2)

Applications

112

(5)

CHAPTER 7 REVISING THE SENTENCES: WRITING WITH STYLE

117

(20)

Aim for Clarity

118

(6)

Keep Your Pronoun References Clear

118

(1)

Avoid Ambiguous Modifiers

118

(1)

Avoid Cramming

119

(1)

Keep Equal Items Parallel

120

(1)

Arrange Word Order for Coherence and Emphasis

120

(1)

Use Active Voice Often

121

(1)

Use Passive Voice Selectively

122

(2)

Trim the Fat

124

(7)

Avoid Wordy Phrases

124

(1)

Eliminate Redundancy

124

(1)

Avoid Needless Repetition

125

(1)

Avoid There and It Sentence Openers

125

(1)

Avoid Needless Phrases

125

(1)

Avoid Weak Verbs

126

(1)

Avoid Excessive Prepositions

126

(1)

Avoid Nominalizations

126

(1)

Make Negatives Positive

127

(1)

Clear Out Clutter Words

128

(1)

Delete Needless Prefaces

128

(1)

Delete Needless Qualifiers

129

(2)

Help Sentences Flow

131

Combine Related Ideas

131

(1)

Vary Sentence Construction and Length

132

(1)

Use Short Sentences for Special Emphasis

133

Applications

123

(14)

CHAPTER 8 REVISING THE WORDS AND PHRASES: FINE-TUNING

137

(23)

Say Something Genuine

138

(1)

Avoid Triteness

138

(1)

Avoid Overstatement

138

(1)

Avoid Misleading Euphemisms

138

(1)

Aim for Precision

139

(4)

Sharpen the Visual Details

143

(2)

Add Some Personality

145

(6)

Establish an Appropriate Distance

146

(1)

Guidelines for Deciding about Tone

147

(1)

Guidelines for Achieving a Conversational Tone

147

(4)

Express a Clear and Appropriate Attitude

150

(1)

Avoid Personal Bias

150

(1)

Invite Everyone In

151

(5)

Avoid Sexist Language

151

(1)

Guidelines for Nonsexist Usage

152

(2)

Avoid Offensive Usage of All Types

152

(1)

Consider the Cultural Context

153

(1)

Guidelines for Inoffensive Usage

154

(2)

Legal and Ethical Implications of Word Choice

156

(1)

Using Automated Tools Effectively

157

Applications

139

(21)

SECTION THREE ESSAYS FOR VARIOUS GOALS

160

(171)

INTRODUCTION

160

(4)

Three Major Goals of Writing

160

(2)

Major Development Strategies

162

(1)

Using This Section

162

(1)

A Word about Structural Variations

162

(2)

CHAPTER 9 DECISIONS ABOUT READING FOR WRITING

164

(14)

Different Levels of Reading

165

(1)

Different Readers, Different Meanings

166

(1)

Reading Strategies for Writers

166

(9)

Case Study One Writer's Response to Reading

167

(5)

"Why I Want a Wife" Judy Brady

167

(4)

"A Long Way to Go" Jacqueline LeBlanc (Student)

171

(1)

Case Study A Second Writer's Response to Reading

172

(3)

"Seeing" Annie Dillard

172

(2)

"Sailboats" Shirley Haley (Student)

174

(1)

Suggestions for Reading and Writing

175

(1)

Guidelines for Reading to Respond

115

(61)

Applications

176

(2)

CHAPTER 10 HELPING OTHERS SEE AND SHARE AN EXPERIENCE: DESCRIPTION AND NARRATION